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Correspondem of the New York Tim
A GUps lit Fortress Mw Be? j
roll H.II Et ry day u -"T"
A Reeeat Full nt ttirwervea Expreffiiea f
Ms Opinio" tht CTe Bolu j,. :
Richmond. Va., Wednesday Jnly-11.-
Nothing is more difficult than tor tne news
paper correspondent to gain even a transient
view of the inner life at Fortress Monroe, as
the Government has issued an imperative
. it. vAiiio?n rt Yiia craft, i mm the
oraer ior iu wtuwivu w -
The public must bear about the prisoner
Sli XUImCDO JWAV.uiww, f "J f - "I
mand it at our hands, and not being able
ourselves to see jenerson 17a via, wc o .
to the necessity of deriving our knowledge
of him from those who have the privilege.
. 1 f . 1 l ! li a Inchest
A gentleman 01 mm uii-jr .
4.,i: .v.mol-or Vina rx;eritlv had a
very extended interview with Davis having
spent an entire day wnu uiui m .; .. -what
I have to say of the prisoner is derived
- - . j A 4-V aAI1WA
from this entirely trustwmwij
" " THE PRESENT CONDITION
of Davis is far from healthy. He has that
peculiar sallowness that is the inevitable re
sult of long confinement, and his nervous
irritablity under , restraint has naturally
enough taken off and keeps off what little
flesh he ever had. He has no appetite, and
it was noted the other day as a remarkable
event, that , he . ate the whole of a crab at
one meal. The constitution of the man
seems gone, and Dr. Cooper said as much
when, being asked why he did not build up
his patient promptly, he replied that there
was nothing to build on. Whether this state
of affairs is a result of his confinement is at
least problematical. A man of seriously im
paired health for years before he was taken
to the Fortress, and a sufferer from nervous
disease, it is the prevalent opinion that the
ruin that came upon his ambition would
have brought him to precisely the same
physical condition without any confinement
at all. He was not the man to sneer it away,
like Benjamin; or work it away, like Lee
and Johnson ; or philosophize it away, like
Stephens. Whatever might have been, the
plain, simple truth is that Jefferson Davis is
suffering at Fortress Monroe from the same
nervous disease to which he was for years
constantly subject at Richmond and at
Washington.
That "glaring light" is in the adjoining
room on a small table in its centre. The bed
is thus in the shadow, and the direct light
does not reach Davis at all ; and it is only
after it has traversed the half of one large
room, the whole of another, and been reflec
ted back from the opposite plain white wall
of his room, that it has any power to annoy
the prisoner. His eyes are very weak, and
the light doubtless does annoy him more
than it would any man living ; but General
Miles, conceiving it his duty to have the pri-
. 1 1 i at a.z i i
soner always in signt 01 me euciueis, it
difficult to imagine any plan by which he
can make the light less offensive than it is
under the present arrangement; but the
more sensible course undoubtedly would be
to dispense with sentinels altogether, and
leave Davis at night, as at day, to his parole.
Mr. Davis does not complain of being dis
turbed by the noise of the sentinels.
By day, Mr. Davis is at entire liberty un
der parole within the limits of the Fortress,
and generally spends the most of his time in
the apartment of his wife, who has had one
of the casemates assigned her. He it is at
liberty to receive any books or papers that
anybody chooses to send him, and in peru
sing these, and in conversations with his wife
and with the numerous visitoas who are con
stantly . calling upon him, he prevents time
from hanging heavily upon his hands.
THE CRAVEN BOOK.
Although he has never said so in so many
words, he has said enough to show that the
has read the work with decided impatience
and indignation. He thinks it a gross breach
of confidence, in the first place, for Dr. Cra
ven to have written any book about him at
all, as all the information he pretends to give
was derived from the confidential and gen
erally consideredacred relation of physician
and patient. Having written a book, under
these circumstances. Mr. Davis thinks he was
doubly bound to adhere strictly to truth.
Generally, Mr. Davis denies the accuracy of
every reported conversation in the book, but
as throwing light upon his thoughts and
feelings, I specify a few of the points he
made.
He grew most indignant perhaps over the
fact that Craven puts into his mouth on sev
eral occasions the expression, " Me and my
people," which he says he never used at any
time or upon any occasion, the form of words
used when he had occasion to refer himself
and the Southern people being, " Me and our
people." In commenting upon this point,
Davis remarked that whatever he might
have been, he had never been egotistical.
Mr. Davis repudiates in toto the Craven ac
count of the manacling scene, including the
mock-heroic speeches Craven represents to
have been made on both sides. His account
is to the effect that when the file of soldiers
entered his room, and the sergeant had sta
ted in a few direct words the business upon
which they had come, he (Davis) quietly and
briefly said that he must resent it to the ex
tent of his power as an insult to " me and
our people." With the view only of enter
ing this forcible protest, and with no intent
of engaging in a childish struggle with the
soldiers, he struck at the man nearest him,
when the soldiers brought their arms prompt
ly to the position of " charge bayonets."
Sergeant - ,however, instantly ordered,
" Shoulder, arms," and had the prisoner
seized and placed upon the bed. When there,
Davis struggled for a moment with the same
intent, but only for a moment and then sub
mitted without remark to what he knew he
could not avoid. The Sergeant (who was
the only " officer" present.) Mr. Davis says,
performed his duty just as a soldier would
do, made no excuse for it, and did not plead
orders. In short, all the detail of this scene
in the Craven book, including the exclama
tion by Mr. Davis, w Oh, the shame ! oh, the
shame I" are, upon the authority of the pri
soner himself, merely figments of the Doctor's
imagination.
Mr. Davis is particularly indignant over
the fact that he is made to endorse General
Hunter as a " Christian and a patriot," and
he says, truly enough, that it would have
been grotesquely inconsistent for him to
have done anything of the kind after having,
as President of the Confederacy, put Hunter
under the ban as a robber. All that he ever
said to Craven on the subject was, that Hun
ter was a fanatic, and he gave as his reason
for the opinion, that he had on two occas
ions, some years ago, attended Hunter in a
duel, and that both times, when all was in
readiness for the word to be given, Hunter
knelt down and prayed, rising and firing at
the word.
Mr. Davis says that he never uttered a
word upon the question of reconstruction
until May last, five months after Dr. Craven
had left the Fort, Then he did at the re
quest ot some of the officers of the Fort, ex
press his views, and it is this conversation
that IB attempted to be Hven in the hnni-
AndiBthere represented as having been held
with Dr. Craven himself. With the report
made of his remarks, Davis does not find
mucn iauit, except that when speaking of
tne xouy 01 requinne neonl tr ir t.a
he illustrated it by saying, that when the
Fugitive Slave Law was in for th -Nrw
England members coming to the bars of the
Houses of Congress fb swear sunnm tr .h
Constitution and the laws, alwava made a
mental reservation against the Fugitive Slave
Law. This illustration, which he seems to
consider of treat weieht. is omitt
Upon one ooint Jefferson D&vin nu tivo
dignity of justice, and puts to the blush
those of his self-constituted advocate Whn
are continually loading General Miles with
he mort opprobrious epithet. Mr.. Davis
- , " wiknni fjttA has
- has none 01 mew iur mc mu "
t -made his jailor, but simply says that to him
-vr;!.x, onfomA. He says Be
' knows Miles to be a brave man and a good
I soldier, and is loth to believe that his course
toward him (Davis) has been pursued only
1 fot the purpose of adding to his physical
.1: r. - TMitt.i'no- indismity upon
him, and prefers to believe that the man
whom he knows to be a good soldier has
pursued his course from a sense of duty.
Further, Mr. Davis admits that when he has
made complaint of anything in his treat
ment. General Miles has rectified it; and the
prisoner's only further ground ot dissatisfac
tion was that it was not done at once, the
General taking his own time to work the
reform.
WHAT LITTLE FOXES DID.
I was on a visit to my grandfather; one of
the pioneer farmers of Central New Tork,
and we had started out for a ride. The first
house we passed was in so many respects like
my grandfather's that it drew my attention.
Your good neighbor seems to have had
some ideas like yours, grandfather," I said.
"The man that built this house had. No
neighlxir of mine now, poor man 1" and my
grandfather drew a long breath.
Then after a pause, his voice changed.
"These foxes I these little foxes, I hate
them! Nobody fears them, nobody minds
them, yet they ruin everything. The beasts
of pray are not half so dangerous. The lit
tle foxes !" he repeated with emphasis, and
his tone was bitter.
" What little foxes, grandfather !"
"Any little foxes, all little foxes; little
sins, little weaknesses, little slanderers, little
debts, I hate them alL They do such mis
chief; they are so treacherous and ruinous V
" When they are so little ?
" Yes, and because they are so little.''
My grandfather paused. I waited in si
lence, and he went on.
" I never ride by that house without pain
and indignation. You see what a fine place
it is; a good house, a hundred and fifty acres
of rich land ; and yet it went for a silk gown.
That was the little fox."
" A silk gown ?"
" Yes it went for a silk gown. And there
went with it what was worth greatly more
than all of it a whole family's happiness
and hope."
" What is the story, grandfather ?"
Til tell you, When I first came to this part
of the country, a young couple of the name
of Brown were settled here in a log house.
They were hardworking, self-denying people,
and everything prospered with them for
many years. They paid for their farm, and
kept adding to it, till, as I told you, they
had a hundred and fifty acres. Then when
I had built me a new house, neighbor Brown
had to build him one, somewhat like mine,
as you see, for he did not like to be behind.
I sent mv oldest children to an academy in
the next town, where they could have better
opportunities for learning than were here.
After a time, neighbor Brown thought it
would be a good thing to educate his chil
dren, and sent his oldest daughter to the
same academy.
It was a new expense to him, but he met
it cheerfully, and for a time, all went well.
The young woman made him stare with her
philosophy, the fond father was more than
repaid for all his sacrifices on her account.
But as she increased in knowledge, so did
she in love of dress, and nothing would do
for her but an expensive silk gown. Her
mother put her off.
" We can't afford it. Susan."
" Why not, mother ?"
" Because we have no money to pay for it."
" But father can pay for it in things from
off the farm."
" Nothing can be spared now. Last year's
grain is all sold ; so is everything else from
last year."
" But father might sell something a cow,
if nothing-else."
" No, he needs all the stock he has."
The father entered.
"Wharisit, Susan?"
" I want a silk dress, father. Mary Stiles
has one."
"How will she get it?" interposed the
prudent mother.
" I'll buy it for her."
"But how will you pay for it ?"
"They'll trust me."
The wife said no more, and Susan hid the
handsomest silk to be found in the next vil
lage, and Brown had a store bill for the first
time in his life. He thought nothing of it,
as many others had the same, and the mer
chant encouraged it. It comes a graat deal
easier to say, " Charge it !" than to hand
over the hard-earned cash. They know this ;
and take advantage of it. And so a man
who would not have spent ten dollars at the
store if he had been obliged to pay " down."
has a store bill of perhaps five times that
amount to meet at the end ot the year.
" And suppose it can t be met ?
" The merchant puts it into the shape of a
note payable with interest, and starts a fresh
account."
"Too bad!"
"So it is ; but Susan brown had her fine
dress, and Brown had his store bill, and
once begun it soon grew too large, and how
many debts are not so ? The command is
wise, Owe no man anything.' Most debts
ought never to have been. iNo one should
have an indulgence that cannot be paid for
at once. Next year Brown's store bill be
came a note with interest, but it did not
trouble him. Next year another note was
given, a larger oue, including interest, and
an unpaid balance of a second store bill.
Heavier interest was not asked, for money
was scarce. Brown kept falling behind for
several years ; once sliding downward, it is
hard to recover one's self. At length I saw
the surveyors at work on that part of his
farm lying next to mine. He was with
them."
" Going to sell ?" I asked him.
" I'm going to give Lyme a mortgage."
"Ah! how's that?"
" He's got some of my notes and wants
one."
I pitied him and with good reason. He
was never the same man again. An incubus
lay upon him, destroying his courage, his
very life. If he could not pay his store bill
how could he lift a mortgage ? His farm
must go ; no help for it. The grasping us
urer had done his work, had made his own
the handsome farm which another man had
earned by the sweat and toil of a life, with
out the sweat and toil of an hour, by cun
ning, small advantages fastened in a little
store debt. How indignant I felt ; how sor
rowful too, when my good neighbor put his
furniture into wagons, put in his axe, plow
dnd hoe, and took his way to an humble
home far from us, to begin lif s toil anew ;
youth all gone, hope almost dead, courage
almost failed, muscles and heart weakened.
And all this wrong and ruin grew from a
little, fthing, a school girl's gown. Do you
wonder I hate the little foxes ? Look out
for them, child 1 watch for them I don't let
them spoil your vines while you arc safe from
them. No one is safe.
We rode on in silence, and I mused and
trembled. So many little ' things life is
made up with them- which shall ruin?
which shall bless ? " God of wisdom direct
me," I prayed.
The 18th was the hottest ever known in
New York city. The thermometer stood at
one hundred and two in the shade at 3 r. m.
Out of forty -three cases of sunstroke, twenty
three proved fatal. Nine cases out of sixteen
in Broklyn were attended with fatal results.
-" One hundred and fifty-eight burial per
mits were issued on the 18th in New York
I eighty of which were made out and recorded
as burial permits for persons deceased after
hort diarrhoea disease. i
. Tub UNioN. Rbvivai It if very gratify
ing W see with what, ease and rapidity . the
political backsliders of the South are-being ,
reclaimed from the error of their wayB, and
with what remarkable facility they return to
the Union fold, and ask to be baptised in. the.
true political faith. Under the preaching of,
the Sentinel, -who is but "fte - convert, and--evidently
displays more zeal than knowledge
in his discourse, the work goes on bravely,
and some of the worst political sinners in .all -the
land some that we even thought repro
bates in principle, and apostates from the
faith are among the converted.
There is but one drawback to our pleasure
at witnessing this, that is a lingering fear
that the work is not genuine. This easy re
pentance, and quick conviction do not indi
cate a genuine work, such as is necessary to
produce a radical, permanent and enduring
political reformation. Too many of these
professed penivents have dry-eyes. They do
not weep over their political sins. There is
a want of depth in their penitence. Their
sorrow is not sufficiently intense. These are
not the marks of a deep work, nor the indi
cations of a genuine revival. Another sus
picious circumstance in connection with this
Dolitical movement is, that nearly all the
conventions are in private, and nearly all the
penitents come through in secret meetings.
Before we have heard that they were even
mourners, we learn that they are converted
and have been appointed to attend the big
experience meeting which is to assemble in
PhiladelDhia. We wanted to attend this
meeting, and be present at the organization
of the new political Union church, but some
of the new converts tell us that we are not
invited. And the Sentinel, the organ, edited
bv the uncalled, self-appointed apostle of
this new movement says, they will not receive
into this communion " un-circumscised radi
cal Yankees."
It is therefore evident that if the Sentinel
has to prescribe the terms, and fix the con-
1 . . 1 ii r c
uitions 01 admission inio me vuuiiuuuiuu ui
this new political church, that there is no
chance for us. But we did not know before,
that circumcision was the initiatory right,
prescribed as the condition without which
no one can be admitted to membership in
this organization. Nor had we been before
informed that our cotemporary had been cir
cumscised? When was thi9 painful and
bloody rite administered to the editor 01 the
Sentinel? We would like to know. Certainly
it must have been performed yery recently.
Or is this idea about circumcision all a hoax,
invented by the Sentinel in order to get the
faithful sons of Abraham to vote for his
friend Jonathan ? It is all a political trick
to deceive our unsuspecting Jewish popula
tion, so as to get them to support his man
for Governor. " Verily how are the mighty
fallen ?" This view of the subject is render
ed probable from the fact that the original
call savs nothing- about circumcision as a
condition precident to admission into the
Union Convention. The Sentinel says that
we can not be admitted, because we are an
uncircumcised yankee. It therefore repre
sents circumcision as necessary. Yet the. call
says nothing about it.
Who would have thought that our cotem
porary would have come to this ? He must
be a mono-maniac, from Worth on the brain.
Newbern Times. 1
A Ruined Gikl drowns herself to
hide her Shame Her Mother and Se
ducer witness the act. On Sunday eve
ning, about the hour of 9 o'clock, a young
girl named Wilhelinina Tage, aged nearly
sixteen years jumpped into the Manitowoe
river and willfully drowned herself, under
circumstances the most lamentable.
Late in the afternoon of that day above
mentioned three half-grown young men weut
to the deceased's home and enticed her and
another girl to go with them. The five went
off together, but were followed at a short
distance by two lads about twelve years of
age each, and each brother to the girls. The
iads kept on the track of the parties for
some time, when one of the three above
named came to them and offered them a tri
fle of money to go back. The little boys
took the bribe and returned, and about the
same time the girl, whose name is not men
tioned above, returned to the home of the
deceased the latter refusing to go with her.
It was now nearly dark, and the parents
went, together with the two lads and girl
spoken of, in search of their wayward first
born. They searched for some time without
success, but, after a time, a dog that went
with the father dislodged the party from a
pine-thicket not far from the river. The
father took after the young scoundrels they
and the girl ran in different directions. The
mother encountered the girl near the road,
where she took off her bonnet and threw it
on the ground, and went straightway to
wards the river. Her mother called her to
come back, but on she went. The two lads
and the other girl tried to catch her, but she'
kept in advance of them all, and, reaching
the river bank, she went down the steep de
clivity in haste till she reached the water's
edge,"deliberately took off her hoop-skirt ;
took the net off of her head and the comb
out of her hair, and threw them on the
ground. By this time the boys had gone
clown the bank and had got within ten feet
of her, but she forbade them coming near
her at their peril. And just then when the
unhappy mother had reached the bank ot
the stream, with her eyes full upon her erring
daughter, this rash, heedless, unfortunate
girl, with curses on her lips, and anger in
her heart with the eye of God, and the
light of the pale moon upon her, took one
fearful, fatal leap into the deep, engulfing
stream, and sank beneath the surface of the
waters. The father of the unfortunate girl
arrived too late to be of any assistance. The
body was not recovered till the next day.
Manitowoe (Wis.) Pilot.
A Paris letter of a recent date con
tains the following amusing anecdote,
illustrating the shrewdness of an Aus
trian detective : A fast young noble
man of Vienna fell over head and ears
in debt, and famous for his success with
the fair sex, received a perfumed rose
colored note, whose contents ran :
" Sir, your agreeable face and figure
have made such an impression on me, I
earnestly desire to make your acquain
tance. Come this evening to the Vien
na theater. I have taken stall No. 78
in the parquette, and I have asked the
ticket seller for No. 79 for a gentleman
who would ask for it saying, " No 79
forever." I trust I may have the pleas
ure of seeing you. Emma." The dan
dy dressed himself in a most elegant
manner, and as soon as the doors were
opened he applied for ' No. 7 9 forever,'
and received it. As the curtain rose a
gentleman came into the theater and
took a seat. As soon as he was at ease
he bent over and whispered in the dan
dy's ears : " I am a constable I've been
hunting for you these fifteen days un
successfully, Don t make a scandalous
scene here, for I tell ; you I have the
warrant for your arrest in my pocket.
If you be quiet you may hear the opera
out." The .fast man ' stared ' wildly
enough for a. few moments, and then
3eeingr resistance utterly hopeless, he
remamed quiet until the end of the op
era, when he followed - the constable to
the debtor's jail. ; v
A party of Americans travelling in '. Aus
tria wre arrested as spies for having in their
possession Lloyd's Military Map of Europe,
which is ,au accurate reproduction of the
Austrian Private - Military Map," so far as
hat Empire is eooeerned.
Tkb Prussian' "Needle" Gun. As this
weapon, which waslreferred ;to a few days
since -in the German' war news, will in all
probability be. frequently' mentioned during
me course or wief present ximvpwui wi,
few words in description of its plan and prin
ciDles will not be out of olace.
The cartridge used in the "Needle" gun is
made ot stiff card board, the Dau, powder,
and explosive composition being contained
in one and the same cylinder. -. Its great
peculiarity is that the detonating -powder is
placed immediately in rear of the base of
the Daiu ana between it ana tne powaer.
The advantage of this is that, when the
powder is ignited, that portion next the ball,
in which combustion is first perfected, exerts
its full force upon the projectile, the powder
t ' . -i. ?a t j. 1
111 rear aisu exerting its luiiircuuc, as ai
comes almost simultaneously igrnited. Un
der the present system, in which that part of
tne powaer next to tne Dreecn 01 me gun is
first ignited, a portion of the powder is fre
quently expelled from the gun witn tne oau
in a condition of only partial combustion,
the explosive force of the powder first con
sumed being adequate to expel the ball and
the powder in its front before the whole
charge has time to become entirely ignited
Thus in the " Needle" gun all the powder is
consumed, and applied to the best enect, ana
so as to obtain its fullest force at the same
instant and in the same direction. The
" Needle" gun is a breach-loader ; and when
the trigger is pulled, a stout "needle" or
wire is thrust through the base of the cart
ridge, parallel with its axis, into the detona
ting charge by the ball, causing its explosion
and the ignition of the cartridge. In accu
racy the "Needle" gun cannot be surpasssed,
and its effective range is said to be about
fifteen hundred yards. It is, however, doubt
ful whether it will be found to bear with im
punity the necessarily rough treatment of an
active campaign. The Prussian J aggers, and
sharp-shooters generally, are armed with this
formidable weapon, and upon a skirmish
line, when it can be used with care and de
liberation, it must prove highly effective.
Two Texan Boys Encounter Bears and
Indians. A correspondent of the San An
tonio Ledger gives the following: As two
little boys of Kendall County one about 12,
and the other between 10 and 11 years of
age were recently coming down from Com
fort, with a few packs of shingles and a few
beeves for market, they saw, on crossing the
Little Josewav, three bears, one old one and
two half-grown cubs. The boys gave chase
and treed the old bear and one of her cubs,
and shot both with a rifle. Having put the
cub in the wagon, they were trying to roll
the old bear to a place where they could load
it, when they saw three Indians approaching
to attack them. The boys had a six-shooter
and rifle, with which they jumped into the
wagon and awaited the Indians, whom they
represented as almost naked, with their
heads stuck full of feathers. The little gen
tlemen first presented their pistol, which did
not stop the approaeh of the Indians ; but
when the rifle was elevated the enemy halted,
consulted awhile, and then retired. The lit
tle boys then came on t ith their team as
fast as they could, saying they supposed the
Indians had gone off for help, and having
themselves escaped death only by showing
ht.
Johannisberg.-According to the Paris
Prevse the lovers of Johannisberg wine have
remarkably little chance of receiving a fresh
supply this year ; and Prince de Metternicli,
ambassador though he be, will bo consider
ably out of pocket. His old castle has often
been subject to the vicissitudes of war. In
1109 it was an old convent. A margrave of
Brandenburg burnt it some centuries later.
In 1729 the abbot of Fulda purchased the
estate and built a castle. Being a jolly old
friar, it struck him that it would be pleasant
to make his own wine ; accordingly lie plan
ted vines in all directions, and presently sold
l,dou bottles at twentv seven francs per bot
tle (1 Is lOd.) In 1802, William, King of
Holland, bought the castle. Napoleon I. ap
propriated it, and presented it to the Duke
de Ualmy, in 1805. The father of its present
proprietor, the mighty diplomatist Prince de
Metternicli, bought it trom Jcllermann in
1813 and left it to his son, the present Aus
trian ambassador to the Tuilleries.
Distressing Accident at Fayettevtlle.
Information has reached us, by means of pas
sengers by the t ayetteville boats on Sunday
last, of a most distressing accident which
occurred at Fayetteville about 10 o'clock on
Saturday morning last.
Our information is to the following effect:
The heavy rains which have fallen in the
vicinity of the town for a week past have
produced a most extraordinary freshet in
Cross Creek. A number of persons were
standing upon Eccles' Bridge, watching the
flow of the waters over t he dam ol McIJamers
Mill, iust above the bridge, which afforded a
sight both beautiful and interesting. Not ap
prehending any danger, many persons pas
sing were prevailed upon to stop ana aaimre
the fine scene thus presented. The number
had been swelled into quite a goodly assem
blage, when the whole dam gave way, and
the mighty rush of waters followed, and
bursting upon tne n nage, swept that, to
gether with its occupants, in wild confusion
down the stream.
The scene was a terrible one, and unfortu
nately but few were near to lend a helping
hand.
The boats left soon after, and up to the
time of leaving no certainty was attached to
the fate of any of the persons on the bridge
at the time of the disaster, excepting that
of a son of Hon. T. C. Fuller, and two ne
groes who are said to have been drowned
beyond a uouot. i ne ooaies 01 tne negroes
we unaerstana nave oeen recovered, jar.
Wm. II. Haigh, we learn, was rescued from
the waters somewhat injured, at a point sev
eral hundred yards from the place where the
bridge stood.
We'are in receipt of the most exagerated
accounts in regard to this calamity, but for
bear mentioning them as we are doubtful ot
their correctness. We are led to the conclu
sion, however, that the persons mentioned
above were the only ones who lost their lives.
We will receive further particulars by the
next boat. WU. Journal.
The following gentlemen have been select
ed as the members of the Commission to re
vise and modify the statutes of the United
States in accordance with the act of Con
gress recently passed: Caleb Gushing, of
Mass.; Judge Wm. Johnson, of Ohio, and
Return J. Meigs, of Washington. It is con
ceded to be a good selection.
A London correspondent says Dickens is
very careful about the arrangements made
for his readings, having invariably a little
red velvet table, with a shelf on one side for
handkerchief and water, and on the other a
little block for the book to which he almost
never refers. He dresses in a way that might
be regarded as foppish in America, flourish
in ?? a bie watch-chain with charms, large
jewelled shirt-studs, and a little boquet in
the lappet 01 a ureautoui.
Death of Samuel R. Bell,, Esq. Samuel
R. Bell, Esq., one of ouroldest citizens, died
at his residence in this place, on Thursday
morning last, after a protracted illness. He
was a member of the late State Convention,
and returned from Raleigh some two or three
weeks before that body adjourned, in conse
quence of bad health. StatetoiUe American.
-. ' i : " " : " v ; '
There is considerable speculation as to
who will be chosed Vice-President pro tern of
the Senate before tne adjournment, benators
Pomeroy, Wade and Sherman "are mention
ed, but it is conceded that the East should
have it, as the President and Speaker of the
House are botu irom the west. The oues-
tion will probably be settled by secret caucus.
THUaSDAF, j - JTJXY W. 1866.
NOTICE. .
The people of this State will vote on
the 2nd, 3d,, and 4th of August next to
ratify or reject the Constitution, lately
adopted by the Convention and ordered
to be submitted to them at the polls.
The District Convention.
The District Convention to appoint dele
gates to the Philadelphia Convention, cal
led under the auspices of secessionists of the
Worth, Sentinel, Bragg school, assembled in
the Court-house, in this City, yesterday. Mr.
Jones Fuller, bitter war man, was called to
the chair, and Mr. Seaton Gales, who refused
to walk under the flag on the 22d day of
February last, was appointed Secretary.
The attendance was small. We observed
among the delegates a few good' Union men,
but fhey had but little if any influence in a
body which was controlled by such as Ex
Governor Bragg, Ex-Governor Manly, and
Josiah Turner, Jr., unpardoned rebel.
The conspicuous actors in the meeting
were Ex-Governor Bragg, who left the Senate
of the United States in 1861 to engage in the
rebellion, and Josiah Turner, Jr., an ex mem
ber of the Confederate Congress, so-called,
unpardoned rebel, &c.
The Hon. Robert B. Gilliam, of Granville,
and the Hon. A. H. Arlington, of Nash, were
elected delegates to the .Convention. Mr.
Henry G. Williams, of Nash, worked hard to
induce the meeting to appoint alternates,
but the meeting refused to do so, no doubt
from the fear that some appointments would
be made that would not look well to North
ern eyes.
Mr. Arlington is an old Democrat, and an
ex-member of the Confederate Congress.
Mr. Gilliam is an old Whig, but is not par
ticularly identified with either the " straitest
sect " Union party or the Worth faction.
We presume both these gentlemen are op
posed to the test-oath and to the proposed
amendment to the Constitution, under which
Tennessee has been admitted. We have no
idea though we have no right to speak for
him that Mr. Gilliam will attend the Con
vention. He is a Judge of our Superior
Courts, and on that account he has been
always careful not to involve himself in party
politics.
But if either or both of these gentlemen
should attend, they may be sure they will be
at once admitted, when they produce their
certificates signed by a gentleman as Secreta
ry, who refused in February last to walk un
der the federal flag !
Mr. Josiah Turner, Jr., who took posses
sion ot the floor several times, intimated
that he was not entirely favorable to the
Philadelphia Convention; and though he
professed to be in attendance as a delegate,
he seemed loth to qualify by allowing Mr.
Gales, at the earnest request cf the very po
lite and distinguished presiding officer, to
enrol his name. The sturgeon was, however, at
last caught, when he floundered about, to
the edification of the Union men present, and
to the infinite disgust of Gov. Bragg and
other old Democrats. He made several of
his rambling, scolding speeches, in the course
of which he said the South must either divide
the Republican party and thus obtain its
own terms, or remain out of the Union
twenty years the inference being that he
would do this before he would advise our
people to do as Tennessee has done in order
to be restored. He opened his batteries on
the Northern Democrats, on Mr. Jefferson,
and on the Democracy generally ; and left it
to be very clearly inferred that he desired no
association with them, here or elsewhere.
And yet President Johnson was a Democrat,
and Mr. Turner is a great Johnson man ! He
said delegates ought to be sent to Philadel
phia who would be acceptable to Northern
delegates ; and having secured the election of
Mr. Gilliam, an old Whig, he seemed dis
posed to compromise as to the other delegate
on William Eaton Jr., once a professed Demo
crat. But Mr. Rencher, of Chatham, and
Mr. Arlington, of Nash, old and true Demo
crats, were put in nomination, and Mr.
Batchelor at length announced that Mr.
Eaton could not possibly accept ; whereupon
Mr. Turner, having determined that no true
Jeffersonian should be appointed, nominated
Hon. Sion H. Rogers, old Whig and Vanceite,
of this County, and voted for him to the last.
Mr. Arrington was, however, elected.
And then Mr. Turner, to show his consist
ency in desiring to send delegates who would
be acceptable to the Northern people, moved
that the meeting request the delegates from
the different Districts to appoint Ex-Governor
Graham, unpardoned rebel, one of the
delegates from the State at large ! He de
clared that Gov. Graham was one of the very
men who ought to be sent ; that he was as
well known in Philadelphia and Boston as
he was in Raleigh ; and that he possessed
great influence among the Northern people !
This was more than Gov. Bragg could endure,
and he was suddenly stricken with a fixed
purpose to have the Convention adjourn.
He seemed to feel that enough harm had
been done already, and that if Josiah Turner,
Jr., should be able to obtain even five min
utes more in which to address the body,
the injury would be irreparable. He pressed
his motion to adjourn, even refusing to with
draw it to allow Mr. Turner to be beard in
opposition to it ; and so, after the vote had
been gravely taken by Counties, by the very
grave presiding officer, on the motion to ad
journ, it was announced by the Secretary in a
sprightly voice somewhat tinged with mel
ancholy, that the motion to adjourn had pre
vailed by a decided majority. And so Mr.
Turner's motion to recommend Gov. Graham
as one of the State delegates, was lost.
Mr. Turner is mistaken as to Gov. Gra
ham's influence at Washington and else
where North. We tell Mr. Turner that we
have recently, been in Washington and talk
ed freely with the President, with members
of the Cabinet, and members of Congress,
and, with the exception of Garret Davis and
a few other'old secession fogies, such politi
cians as Mr. Graham, Mr. Turner, Gov.
Vance,' Gov. Worth and the like, have no
consideration and no influence whatever. '
. The Convention could not trust itself with
resolutions. tNo resolutions were . offered.
The leaders could not have agreed, and be
sides, they were not prepared to make any
record even of their professed friendship for
President Jbbjn.ir-Ci $'&X'rlx
"We very , much . fcar that, such persons as
Ex-Governor Bragg, Josiah .Turner, Jr Bea
ton Gales, and" J.- B. Batchelor Will nbt be
able to restore the State to the Union.
Only one thing was lacking io render the
exercises on the occasion still more : in-.
teresting : Brother Pell, so-called, - should
have been present, to open the proceedings
with prayer.
P. S. The public will always rigret4hat
Gov. Bragg shut down the gate before -Mr.
Turner could deliver the very important re
marks he desired to make. Mr. Turner is
very anxious to be restored to the Union,
just as things are, so that he can occupy his
cushioned seat, draw his five thousand dol
lars per annum, use his franking privilege,
and enjoy the privilege so dear to his heart,
of seeing the true Union men of the State
crushed under the heel of the present rebel
State government. But Mr. Turner will
never, never occupy a seat in the federal
Congress. No matter what may happen, he
will never enter those halls to associate with
loyal men.
Curious and Useful Invention.
Mr. John A. Collins, of Halifax County,
has shown us what is called The Watch Dog,
or Sleeping Man's Protector an iron box,
nearly square, weighing sixteen pounds, con
taining a gun or small cannon, and so ar
ranged by wires that it will explode at a
slight touch. The rammer of the guu is
used as a lever to raise a strong Bpring,
which, when set, may be released and thrown
upon a percussion cap which discharges the
gun, by the touching of strings that are at
tached to four wires, and may be extended
to any distance. The noise of the explosion
will itself startle a thief, to say nothing of
the shot from the gun.
This invention is by Mr. M. C. Heptinstall,
of Halifax County. It may be used in stores,
smoke-houses, corn-cribs, barns, orchards,
and indeed in any situation. Price, $10.
The Trial of Mr. Davis.
It will be a long time, in all probability,
before Mr. Davis is tried, owing to the fact
that the Chief Justice refuses to order the trial
until martial law is entirely removed from
Virginia. The Chief Justice left Washing
ton a few days since, and does not expect to
return until October. This decision in this
matter seems to be proper. It cannot be ex
pected that the Chief Justice of the highest
civil court in the country will preside in a
case of the first importance, under the shad
ow even of martial law.
The people of Virginia are so defiant and
rebellious that President Johnson does not
deem it safe to remove martial law. Who,
then, is to blame because Mr. Davis is not
tried ? Surely not the President or the
Chief Justice.
At a meeting recently held in Asheville,
in which N. W. Woodfin and R. B. Vance
were leading actors, the following among
other resolutions, was adopted :
"Resolved, That this meeting deprecate
any action ot a .national Convention that
shall either sanction or fail to condemn, in
decided teims, the odious and unconstitu
tional test oath, now standing on the records
of Congress."
These gentlemen profess to desire 1o re
turn to the Union, but they intend to return
to it in their own way. They will be a long
time about it. The test-oath will not be re
pealed. They might as well make up their
minds to conform to it. They will have
to do it, sooner or later. The Philadelphia
Convention will not condemn the test-oath.
If it were to do so, its advocates and sup
porters could not rally a corporal's guard in
any township in the Northern States.
We do not like this test-oath, because it is
too hard on Southern Unionists. But we
have little sympathy with the objection that
it will keep our " big men" out of the first
Congress in which the recently insurgent
States are to be represented. It is true, we
want our ablest men in the national councils,
and they will be there in due time; but it
should be borne in mind that our orators or
great talkers contributed much to involve us
in our recent and present troubles, and that
we have, in this State at least, many honest,
intelligent, and respectable mechanics and
farmers who can take this oath. Let us send
some of these mechanics and farmers to
Congress. We know this is gall and worm
wood to a certain class who imagine that
they possess all the talent and all the decency,
and who could not bear Lincoln, the rail
splitter, nor Douglas, the cabinet-maker, nor
even Johnson, the tailor, until very recently.
We do not, by any means, despair of the
Union because it may be necessary to send
mechanics and farmers to Congress. We
regret that more of them were not there, and
in our legislative halls at home, at the time
when great talkers with their syren tongues
were luring our honest, unsuspecting people
into the hell cf disunion and civil war.-
These mechanics and farmers, who are sneered
at because they can take the test-oath, would
make as good representatives in Congress as
any 01 our brilliant talkers. Sound judg
ment and common sense are better than mere
learning or genius.
Protection to Loyal Persons.
We are glad to see that Mr. Poland, of
Vermont, has introduced into the Sena'te a
bill to prevent the Courts from being used
as instruments of persecution against loyal
persons. This bill
" Provides that in any action of tort to
person or property done between April 13,
laoi, ana jury 1, ito, it shall be lawful to
plead or give in evidence in bar of said ac
tion; First, that at the time when the
wrong was committed the plaintiff was dis
loyal to the government of the United States;
second, that the plaintiff was engaged in in
surrection and rebellion against the United
States ; third, that the plaintiff aided and
comforted and sympathized with the rebels
and insurgents against the government
of the United States ; fourth, that the plain
tiff applied for or obtained pardon from the
President relieving him of the penalties of
treason. The establishment of either point
shall be a good defence."
We trust Congress will pass some act of
this kind. It is much needed in the States
recently in rebellion. , l v ! .
Gen. Sheridan, in, command of the New
Orleans department, has published an order
forbidding commemorative Confederate mon-
t uments, and dissolving all organizations for
Jt Tennessee Restored to the 1 Union j -
-;'ne senate 01 ineiumtea States on Satur
day last," passed the following ' v -
7 'Whereas, In the year 1861, the Govern
uieuk ui me dww ui-xennessee was seized
upoiT and taken possession of by persons m
hostility to the United States, and the in
habitants of said State, in pursuance of an
act of Congress, -.were -declared to be in a
state of insurrection against the United
States; and ',
Whereas, Said State Government can
only be restored to its fonner political rela
tions in the Union by the consent of the law"
making power of the United States ; and
Whereas. The people of the said State
did, on the, 22d day of February, 1865 by a
large vote, adopt and ratify a Constitution
and Government whereby. Slavery was abol
ished, and the ordinances and laws of Sel
cession and debts contracted under the same
were declared null and void ; and
Whereas, A State Government has been
organized under said Constitution, which
has ratified the amendment to the Constitu
tion of the United States abolishing Slavery"
and also the amendment proposed by the
Thirty-Ninth Congress, and has done other
acts proclaiming and denoting loyalty there
fore, be it ' ' '
Resolved, By the Senate and House of Ren
resentatives of the United States in Conoress
assembled, that the State of Tennessee is
hereby restored to her former proper practical
relation to the Union, and is again entitled
to be represented by Senators and Represen
tatives in Congress."
Mr. Sumner and Brown Voted nay, because
the blacks of Tennessee are not allowed to
vote, and Messrs. McDougall and Buckalew
objected to .the preamble, not the resolve.
The New York Tribune, noticing this result'
says: '
" There is no member of either House and
no party any where, averse to the restoration
of Tennessee, or of any other State lately in
arms against the Union. There exist crave
differences with regard to the terms whereon
such restoration should be effected; there
are none who wish it postponed or evaded i
and they who assert the contrary are willful
calumniators.
Equally false is the assertion that Congress
has exacted Negro Suffrage of Tennessee
Onlyour Senators-supportedsuch exactions
and the vote in the House was nearly in orol
portion. We have no doubt that aormt ma
jority of , the Republicans in either House ar
dently desire that all the loyal people of the
South shall be enfranchised, irresneetive of
color; but they have not exacted any thing
this If any State refuses to let its Blacks vote
then it shall not count them as a basis of repre
sentation. In other words : " If
and treat negroes as beasts, vou shall nnt
count them against us as men." We deeply
regret that Congress did not feel iustifivi in
going farther, and demanding that everv
Tight accorded by any State to any of her late
Rebels shall be secured also to her loval inhabi
tants without exception. It seems to us that a
proposition couched substantially in these
words must have commanded the assent of
nearly every heartily loyal man, whatever his
prejudices or his color. But we have chosen
at this session to walk behind Congress rath
er than attempt to lead it.
Ihe heaviest vote ever polled in Tennessee
(on Secession, in 1861) was 152.143 : her vote
for Representatives in Congress last year was
01,403. onsiaenng now tearful have been
her losses on both sides in the late r?ivli Wa
it is probable that fully half of her White
Male Adults voted for members of this Con
gress, bo much tor the assertion that they
represent but " one in fifty of the DODulation
of the State."
The telegraphic dispatches of Tuesday
state that on Monday the House of Repre
sentatives concurred in the above from the
Senate ; and the members from Tennessee
have no doubt by this time been sworn in
It is stated that the President will sign the
joint resolution, but will protest against sen
ding it to him, as he has nothing to do with
the admission of members of Congress. :
The members from Tennessee are as fol
lows: Senators, David T. Patterson, J. S.
Fowler. Representatives." N: O. Tavlor.
Horace Maynard, W. B. Stokes,- Edward
Cooper. W. B. Campbell, S. M. Arnall, J. R.
Hawkins, J. W. Leftwitch. All these gentle
men can take the oath. They are what the
President would call loyal men, u unmistale
bly devoted" to the Union. .
Well, Tennessee has been admitted with
out negro suffrage, and the other States will
be admitted also, if they will do as Tennes
see has done. Will North-Caiolina follow
her example ? , Not unless the people will
rise in their majesty and require their ser
vants to do it Those in power in this State
would stay out of the Union indefinitely
before they would return to it on the loyal
basis laid down by Tennessee.
The New- l Attorney-General. The
Washington correspondent of the New York
Times says :
"As anticipated in my dispatch of last
night, Hon. Henry Stransbery. has accepted
the appointment of Attorney-General, and
his nomination was sent to the Senate this
afternoon. Mr. Stanberv is a" resident of
Campbell County, Kentucky, on the south
bank of the Ohio River, just opposite Cin
cinnati. A number of papers have fixed his
residence in Ohio for many years and until
recently ne aia reside there.
Mr. Stansbery has never been upon the
bench, and is not therefore entitled to the
judicial affix of Judge, which most of the
journals give mm, but his reputation as a
r i - 1 1 . . . .. 1
(inmiuuu jurist ana aoie aavocateis national,
and he stands at the head of the legal pro
fession in Ohio, and in which State and the
adjoining States he has been long engaged
in the practice of the law. : None but those
who, like your correspondent, have a per
sonal Knowledge of the legal attainments,
high social worth and integrity of Mr. Stans-
oery can luuy appreciate his eminent fitness
for the position of Attorney-General, and
the excellent judgment exercised by the
President in selecting' Mr. Stansbery as a
member ot the Cabinet."
The Statcsville Amerietm states that the
Senior Editor of this paper was once a
" Know Nothing Chief, then a secessionist
and Head Center of the Knights of the
Golden Circle in North-Carolina, presiding
over secret meetings held in barns and horse
stables about Raleigh." s.
There is no foundation for these statements.
We were never a Know' Nothing, and we
know nothing about the Knights of the Gol-
aen uircie. We never belonged to etner ui
these organizations. ... Will the ' Ameriean do
us the justice to correct these misrepresenta
tions ? -
Champagne Drtnkers. We learn that
30,000,000 of bottles of champagne are an
nually sold and thus distributed: Africa con
sumes but 100,000 of these ; Spain and Por
tugal, 800,000 ; Italy, 400,000 ; Belgium,
500,000, Holland as much : Germany, 1,000,
000; Russia, 2,000,000; France, 2,500,000;
thirsty England, 5,000,000 ; India, ditto ;
and North America,- 10,000,000 bottles.--These
.figures refer to the consumption 01
wine really grown in the champagne country
and by no means include the tens of milliDS
of bottles of goosbery, rhubarb, and other
villainous . compounds annually ,sold ftd
- drank as the true and genuine produce of
the Epemsy vioes. , Paris Letter.